Lips Like Morphine
by Releasin'-The-Neeson
Summary: All the boys of Mineral Town seem smitten with the new girl when she washes up on the beach, but only one of them will be able to make her their wife. And what of the secrets of her past? Included altenate endings Rated T for later chapters
1. Gray The Rescuer

Lips like Morphine –

~ Chapter 1 - Gray The Rescuer ~

"Stupid old man," Gray mumbled as he made his way down the cobblestone pathway leading to the beach. The blue-black sky glittered with winking stars that seemed to tease him. He was so exhausted with today's work; new shipments came in from many different towns which meant double the work for Gray and his grandfather, Saibara. It was half one in the morning and he was making Gray drag himself out of his cosy bed to test out a fishing rod that would be delivered at midday.

Making his way down the stone steps that led to the soft sandy shores of Mineral Town's beach, Gray headed for the wooden planks of the pier. He let out a grunt as the planks creaked and groaned as the sea water sloshed against it. Sitting down on the edge, he examined his craftsmanship in his two hands. The fishing rod had been purple, at the request of the client, decorated with stars and the name "Lanna" engraved in fancy writing down the edge, which had really been a pain to do. Although, the client had offered a lot of money for the item, so he couldn't complain that much.

He thrust his arm forward toward the black ocean in front of him, the line hissing as the fine wire unravelled. A faint 'plonk' was heard that suggested the lure had embedded into the ocean waters.

'_Not much to do now…'_ Gray mused to himself; the only sounds were the waves gently beating against the pier and sand. It was incredibly soothing but it didn't help Gray's exhausted state. He felt his eyes slowly sinking shut, but then he snapped out of it; a tugging on the line rousing him from his sleepy state. He gripped the rod with both hands, his knuckles turning white with the effort, before giving a hard jerk in the opposite direction. The line stubbornly clung to whatever it had hooked on despite Gray's mighty tugs.

"What the hell is on this line?!" he quietly hissed to himself, his light brown hair lightly shadowing his blue eyes. He gave one final tug, the fishing line heaving the object out of the deep waters and right into Gray's chest. He let out a grunt as the object smacked against him, effectively knocking the wind out of his lungs and sending him to the floor.

"Ugh…" Gray groaned. His UMA hat lay on the pier a few metres away; the impact must have thrown it off his head. His chest and overalls became soaked with sea water as it leaked from whatever lay on his chest. It was pretty light. His baby blue eyes peeled open to glance at what had taken so much effort to pull out of the sea.

Gray looked down to see black hair spilled out over his chest, pale hands that dangled at his sides and a young girls cheek pressed against him. Not moving and not breathing. It took his brain a few seconds to register what exactly he was seeing here. The end of the fishing rod hooked on her loose purple shirt.

Gray was up in an instant, laying the young girl gently on her back and brushing her hair off her face. His big calloused hands cupper her pale face. _'Her skin is freezing…' _he thought as more worrying thoughts swam through his mind, his heart rate quickening to a thundering pace. _'Okay, keep calm, Gray. You can do this…' _Pulling on his knowledge about CPR, the guidelines came to mind.

'_Step one: Attempt to wake the victim.'_

His hands moved off her face to her shoulders then gently began to shake her awake. "Come on, wake up! Please wake up!" he desperately cried but alas, she didn't show any signs of waking up. Fear knotted in his heart again but he shook it off.

'_Step two: Begin Rescue Breathing'_

Gray got to work immediately. Tilting her head back, Gray bent his head down and put his ear near her mouth. _'Crap, no breathing!' _Gray pinched her nose with his index and thumb, and then inhaled a breath full of ocean air before slamming his lips into the girls, forcing the air into her mouth and down her throat. His eyes caught sight of her chest rise but then it fell as the air escaped. Gray repeated the process a few more times before he searched his brain for the next step.

'_Step three: Begin Chest Compressions'_

Gray quickly interlaced his fingers together then pushed the heel of his hand down on the unknown girl's chest. He continued to give compressions for about a minute then paused to repeat the breathing process. As his lips landed on hers again to shove a load of air into her lungs, the air suddenly rushed back up her throat and into Gray's. Gray pulled away quickly, filling his lungs with the sea air as he gazed down upon the girl. She started choking and spluttering water from her throat whilst trying to gasp in oxygen.

Thinking quickly, Gray knelt behind the girl, pulling her up into a sitting position to help get the water out. After a few minutes, the girl sat there heaving air in while Gray silently rubbed her back and held her upward. Without his UMA hat to hide his face, Gray felt really nervous all of a sudden. He didn't like people seeing him without his hat; it made him feel vulnerable. He felt like reaching behind to grab it but the girl was more important right now. He wasn't that selfish.

"Um… are you alright?" Gray whispered. They'd been sitting here in silence with his arms wrapped around her, just the sound of their breathing and the ocean waves ringing out. He leaned forward a little to take a look at her face. He felt his cheeks heat up at the sight of her. She had gorgeous, deep, ruby coloured eyes that reminded him of the precious gems he often came across in the winter mine. Her heart shaped face was framed by her long black hair, although it seemed wet now, it was still pretty.

"I-I'm f-fine thank you…" she replied back, her voice still ragged from the rough salty water. Her eyes were red around the edges, as though she'd been crying. Gray let a small smile form on his lips. _'Thank God she's alright. I did it,' _he thought as a sense of pride and protectiveness overcame him. It was then that Gray came to realise she was leaning on his chest, her head resting on his shoulder. His cheeks heated up again, painted a scarlet colour. He'd never been this close to a girl before; they all thought he was weird and anti-social.

"We should get you to the Harvest Sprites… do you need any help?" he asked, faint blush still present on his cheeks at their close proximity. The girl blinked up at him, her throat still sore from the water. She, too, had noticed their closeness and was grateful for it; sea water was cold, the boy was not. It was as simple as that. Well… that and he was quite cute. The girl thought for a moment. _'Should I say, "No, I'm fine" Or, "Yes, I would be grateful"?'_ Well she didn't want to seem like the typical damsel in distress.

"No, I'm fine," she stated, giving him a small smile. She saw Gray nod his head, looking unsure, before he moved away to grab something behind him. His outstretched hand reached his UMA hat that lay in the sand. Just then, he froze on the spot; a purple ring caught his attention that lay next to his hat. Figuring it must be the girls; he snatched it, along with his hat, and then placed it in his overall pocket, making a mental note to give it to her when they reached the Harvest Sprites house.

She felt another smile light her face when she saw a hat being placed, rather quickly, on his head. He then stood up, his overalls soaked with sea water.

"Um… it's this way," he mumbled, his hand pulling the cap over his eyes. He went over to the sand, seemingly to look around for something, leaving her on the pier planks. Placing her hands on the splintery wood, she attempted to stand on shaky legs. Her jeans and long purple t-shirt clung to her frame. Her whole body shook but for the most part, she managed to take a few, very hard steps toward to the end of the pier and Gray.

Gray turned back; the fishing rod must have fallen into the water when she smacked into him. He turned around to tell her to wait for a few minutes while he waded in and retrieved it, but the girl's legs had decided to give way. He jumped forward and caught her steadily in his arms before she hit the floor. The same fear raced across his heart as when he found her.

"Hey! Are you alright?!" he questioned. The girl was pretty light and it didn't take much effort to keep her up, what with all his blacksmith training. His muscled arms wound around her back, keeping her close to him. The girl let out a nervous chuckle.

"Guess I need your help after all…" She smiled again, her own arms coming up to wrap around his neck. Her legs felt like jelly. 'She must be still in shock,' he concluded. Gray smiled back faintly, his cheeks blushing again. He moved his arms around, one to rest at her back and the other hooked around the back of her knees. With one sweep, he held her in his arms; bridal style.

"W-weren't you looking for something..?" she breathed, her eye lids suddenly becoming heavy. It was really relaxing being held in his arms; heck she didn't even know the guy!

"I'll come back to get it later. We need to sort you out now. …My name's Gray, by the way… What's your name?" he whispered, his shyness peaking out again. He wasn't good at making conversation. His brown fringe lightly brushed over his eyes when he looked down; it made him look… kind of cute. The girl suddenly tensed up. What was her name? Come to think of it, she couldn't remember anything before she woke up a moment ago. Strange…

"I-I don't… remember…" she muttered, deep in thought. It was then that she felt her limbs become heavy, as if they were made of lead. She felt like she was drifting on clouds; it was so relaxing. Maybe she could just shut her eyes for awhile…

Gray continued on, "You might have hit your head or something. Try not to think of it now. This place is called Mineral Town anyway... it's pretty quiet around here…" He trailed off when he took notice of the fact that she had drifted off into a deep sleep. 'She must be exhausted,' he thought, making his way through the empty town streets. Someone was sure to freak out and make a scene if they spotted the local blacksmith carrying a soaking wet stranger. As if the locals here didn't think he was weird enough.

The town centre square was empty, as you'd expect this early in the morning. Gray wondered what time Harris, the local police officer, came out to do his rounds across the town. It wasn't like he was doing anything wrong here, but he'd rather not deal with all the fuss right now. He slipped past Carters Church and strolled along the dirt path. The moonlight rained down upon them as they neared a small hut. It looked like a large mushroom, with a green roof, surrounded by shrubs. Gray would have to crouch down in order to fit inside. Out of the entire town, minus his grandfather, Gray was the only one who friends with the Harvest Sprites and they were some of the few people who saw Gray lower his guard all the way down.

As gently as he could, Gray tapped the door with his foot, seeing as his arms were occupied by the young girl. The young blacksmith waited for a few moments when the door opened, a grumbling little sprite peeking through the doorway, clad in an aquamarine jacket.

"…Gray? Do you have any idea what time it…?" The little Harvest Sprite trailed off when his eyes rested on the sleeping girl. "W-who's this?! What happened!?" he spluttered out, swinging the door open and hurrying toward Gray as he kneeled down.

"I was testing a new fishing rod out and it hooked into her shirt and pulled her out of the ocean. She's so light," he explained, concern lacing his voice. "She was talking before but then she fell asleep. I don't think she has any broken bones," he explained, his grip on the girl loosening to allow the sprite, known as Aqua, to get a better look.

"Hmm… bring her over there; she can stay here for the night," Aqua stated, disappearing inside for a moment, leaving the front door open.

'Over where?' Gray pondered, looking around. His blue eyes then landed on a hammock that was barely visible through the thick cloak of bushes and shrubs. Walking over, Gray gently lay her down on the green fabric, taking care to put her down slowly. He then stepped back as he heard small footsteps approach. He turned around to see Aqua and some other Sprites he had seen a few times.

"It's alright, Gray. You best get back to the Inn, we can take care of her," Aqua insisted, his small hands pushing at Grays legs.

"Okay, okay I'm going. I have work in the morning anyway," he replied, walking around the Sprites and back down the dirt path. He just hoped Anne or someone was still awake to open the front door for him. Before disappearing completely from sight, Gray turned back around to glace at the girl once more before rushing down the path toward them again.

"Wha-?" Aqua began but was interrupted by Gray.

"I forgot to give you this; I think it belongs to her," he answered, producing the ring from his pocket and handing it to the Sprite. "I best get going now," he muttered to himself, before hurrying once again down the path. The thought of the forgotten fishing rod flashed across his mind once again before he inwardly groaned. The Inn would have to wait a bit longer; a trip back to the beach was needed.

Aqua turned to his fellow sprites, "We'll keep her with us until she wakes up," he announced, then looked at the ring that had been placed in his palm. It was a black stone surrounded by silver metal…

To be continued…


	2. The Doctor, The Name and The Injured

"Her temperature is decreasing, any minute now..." was the first thing the girl woke up to. The voice belonged to an educated, refined man, who had a deep, slight American accent. As her eyes fluttered open, the face of a smiling, dark haired man beamed down at her. She noted his white lab coat, the stethoscope dangling round his neck and the Doctor's mirror strapped round his ruffled black hair, and came to the conclusion that the man's profession was a doctor.  
As if on cue, he said, "It's nice of you to join us. As you have probably worked out, I am a doctor and my name is Trent." He continued to smile a small sweet smile, then turned his head and ordered, "Timid, can you go tell Elli we won't be needing any of the medicine."  
He turned back around and conversationally said, "Elli is my nurse and we thought you may need some medicine to help you get better." The girl didn't look like she was going to talk so Trent pressed on.  
"The Sprites told me you weren't waking up and their magic was ineffective, so they came by the clinic and got me to come here and check you out. They must have been very worried about you because they don't usually leave this area, so I made sure to come by as soon as possible." The girl stared up at Trent, her ruby coloured eyes dazzling him. She looked so vulnerable that it made him want to take her back to the clinic and care for her, but he had to be professional and keep the beds available to people who really needed them.  
"I-it-'s-s nice t-to meet you, Mis-ster Trent." Her voice croaked and her each word felt like a shard of glass against her throat. "Need water," her thoughts were spoken aloud.  
Trent looked ashamed. He knew that she would be thirsty and he couldn't have helped watching her sleep and talking to her. He turned around and the Sprite Bold gave him a cool glass of milk.  
He held it near her mouth as she pulled her bruised arms up to hold the milk. Trent noticed her struggle so he pressed the glass to her lips and tilted the glass until she started gulping down the milk. Once finished, she flashed him a grateful smile, one that sat perfectly on her beautiful heart shaped face. Trent blushed and turned to hand Bold the glass back.  
Being as professional as possible, Trent smiled at her and asked gently, "Do you remember why you were in the ocean?"  
Just like the handsome stranger before, this good looking doctor was now asking her to remember who she was. Not wanting to disappoint, she thought hard but nothing came to her. She didn't know who she was or why she was here.  
She looked at the doctor hopelessly but he smiled reassuringly and said instead, "Do you remember your name?"  
The girl shook her head and an irritated tear slid down her cheek. Why couldn't she even remember this simple detail?  
Startled, Trent gently brushed the tear of the cheek and then froze, both of them immediately blushing. Trent chuckled lightly, the sound soothing to the girl.  
"How about we call you Ruby? After your unique eye colour?"  
The girl stared intently at Trent whilst thinking whether she should say, "that's a cute name, I love it," or "that name is horrible." Whilst she looked at him she noticed how nice his eyes were and how his doctor clothes really suited him.  
"That's a cute name, I love it!" the girl said after a moment and in response, Trent's smile intensified. Then he looked at his watch and realised that he had to get back to the clinic.  
"I'm sorry but I will have to leave you; I have to see a client in ten minutes." Trent hesitated then advised, "If you feel ill or in pain at all, don't be a stranger and come straight to see me." Then he quickly added, "And Elli of course. You shall have to meet her."  
The girl gave him a smile that made his stomach feel weird and then nodded.

The girl watched as the doctor left, heard him mumble, "The stupid blacksmith, she could have been seriously ill and his stupid pride could have affected her health. He should have brought her the clinic the minute he found her."  
The people of the village that she had met so far had been nice. The handsome man on the beach had been her rescuer; the striking doctor had been her name giver. Both men had been so kind to her and yet she felt that they didn't like each other. Wasn't the doctor mumbling about someone not taking her immediately taking her to the clinic the minute he found her? She was going to have to ask the man, Gray, if he was a blacksmith the next time she saw him. But for now, her eyelids were drooping and she couldn't think of anything but sleeping.

When she awoke, she felt so much better. Her body had stopped aching and she felt like she was able to get up and walk around. Actually, her body ached to get up and walk around. Ruby threw her legs over the hammock so she was sitting upright, then gently pushed herself off it so she was in a standing position. She lifted one leg in the air and placed it a few centimetres in front of her and repeated the action with the other leg. How long had she not be walking for? It felt like a foreign thing to do but she continued the process until she lost her balance and went flying towards the Sprites hut. She quickly grabbed a nearby tree, narrowly avoiding landing on top of the hut and crushing it with her weight. She wasn't heavy but the hut didn't look very supportive.  
Her hands slid down the tree and Ruby landed on her bottom with a thud. She had managed to scrape her hands and hurt her bottom and she felt ready to crawl in the direction of the clinic in tears. However, she didn't know exactly where the clinic was and she didn't want Doctor Trent to think she was a vulnerable maiden in distress. She may not know who she was, but Ruby knew that the last thing she needed was to be dependent on someone.  
A small green person had came out to find out what the commotion was and saw the girl, who had been occupying their hammock, on the floor.  
"Do y-you neeeed any h-h-help?" Ruby realised that he must be the green Sprite, Timid, if his nervous nature was any clue. She felt herself smiling, knowing that the Sprite was only being nice and that he was too small to aid her. But she was proved wrong when she suddenly sparkled and found herself standing firmly.  
"Did you do this?" She gestured herself in wonder.  
"Ye-yeah-yes I d-did." The Sprite started edging towards the hut hurriedly but then stopped and removed a ring from its pocket. The girl continued to be shocked as the ring was her size and way too big for the Sprite's tiny pocket.  
"T-t-this is y-yours," the Sprite trembled before placing the ring on the floor and rushing away. The girl picked up the ring in confusion. She had never seen this ring before; or it was hers and she had forgotten it like everything else in her life. It was a pretty silver ring, adorning a heart shaped black stone. She slipped it onto her finger - a perfect fit.  
Her mind suddenly thought of the doctor and she could swear that the ring turned a lighter shade, more a dark grey shade than black. She then thought of Gray, who she needed to ask if he was a blacksmith. Again, she could have sworn the ring turned lighter still. Her mind must be playing tricks on her she thought, and started making her way down the path.  
"!" A voice called out from behind her and she turned to see another Sprite, this time a dark blue shade, running towards her.  
"Yes? Is there a problem?" she smiled politely.  
"Bold reporting for duty! And no, I want to take you to your new establishment. I know the hammock is comfy but you need facilities and ours are way too small for you," Bold shouted confidently. "Follow me please."  
Ruby found herself on what must have been a farm. It was a mess now though. The buildings that must have been barns were barely standing and the farm was covered in weeds. The only thing that still remained intact was a small, modest house that looked liveable. They entered and she saw it was fully furnished, with a kitchen, fireplace, bed and television. The walls were beige and the soft carpet was chocolate brown.  
"This is lovely, thank you so much!" The girl smiled and started rushing round her new house. Then she stopped and frowned. "I don't know how I am going to be able to pay for this house."  
Bold smiled and replied, "This house is courtesy of the Sprites. The farm has been deserted for a long time now, so you can keep this house. Of course, you will have to de-weed the place and you will have to do jobs for the villagers so you can buy things. Good luck now." And with that the Sprite poofed away.  
Ruby sighed contentedly and sank down into her new bed. Her new life seemed to be extraordinary. The new people she had met had been generous to her, she got a new house for nothing and she could do jobs round the village and make new friends. Of course, at the time Ruby had forgotten all about her past and had not quite met everyone in the village just yet...

Using some old gloves she had found in a chest in her house, Ruby grabbed the bottom of the weeds and started wiggling the vegetation out of the ground. Today, she would spend the day sorting out as much of the farmland as possible. Tomorrow, she would explore the little village. On the journey she had had with Bold yesterday, she had spotted a few places she needed to check out. She had went past a church, a building which the sign told her was the clinic (she needed to go say hello to Dr Trent sometime and meet his friend Elli), the inn where Bold had told her a few villagers lived. They also went past the blacksmith's, which was only a small distance from her house. Once she had some money, she would bake him a thank you present.  
But today she needed to get rid of the weeds. She had been going at it all day and was making quite good progress. She stopped for a short break and went to wash the dirt off her arms in a small stream that ran the length of the farm, south of her house.  
Whilst getting clean, she noticed a bridge. Well, she had been busy all day and she was on a break so she decided she should be allowed to explore. Ruby left her gloves inside a decrepit barn and crossed the bridge. She found herself in a clearing with a wooden shack to her right. To her left were two paths.  
Ruby stood at the point where the two paths met and wondered which one she should follow first.  
That's when she heard the noises. It was an animal, most likely a dog, whining in pain. She made her mind up straight away and started walking towards the whines of the injured. Ruby knew she couldn't leave the animal to be in pain alone. If Gray had just left her, she would be dead now.  
However, Ruby began to panic as she had wound up being in a forest. Before she could turn back and head home, Ruby spotted a dog with a gash in its leg. It was lying on its side, its poor leg bleeding. Ruby rushed over and began stroking the dog soothingly. She didn't have any veterinary experience so all she could do was calm the dog down and hope that someone would stumble across them.  
The dog stopped whimpering and started licking Ruby's arm. She giggled until the dog stopped licking her and tried to sit up with its ears pricked. That's when the bushes started moving behind her and Ruby became scared. No one knew where she was and there could be anything in the forest. Ruby was only small and light, so she wasn't very good at fighting.  
She yelped when the bushes suddenly parted and out stepped a tall man, with gray hair popping out from under his cowboy hat. The sight of him brought back a flash of a grey haired man she used to know, a certain phantom thief...


End file.
